


Guns and Ships

by RosieDae



Series: Chicken Soup for the Soul(mate). [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Movies), Thor - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Bucky isn't good with 21st century stuff, F/M, SHIP DARCY WITH ALL THE THINGS, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-21
Updated: 2016-06-21
Packaged: 2018-07-16 09:02:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7261399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RosieDae/pseuds/RosieDae
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Growing up, Bucky never realized that his violent soulmate tattoo was actually lyrics to a rather popular 21st century musical.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Guns and Ships

**Author's Note:**

> Hey all! I'm back. We're just going to assume that everyone has words even if their soulmate isn't born yet, because the Universe knows everything.

George and Winifred Barnes are mortified when they see their son’s words for the first time. James Buchanan Barnes is not but thirty seconds old when the doctor hands him to Winifred, a sorry look visible on his face. Winifred sees the violent words wrapped around her newborn son’s leg and blanches.

Winifred does not cry happy tears that day. Instead, she weeps for her newborn son.

* * *

 

Bucky Barnes always knew he was different growing up. His Words are always covered up; thankfully they are on his upper thigh and not hard to hide. But he wonders why he needs to hide them. Both of his parents are very adamant about that. His words are not to be shared with anyone. He asks his mother one day why he is not allowed to share his Words with anyone. His mother tells him that some things are not meant to be shared. He understands, but he doesn’t.

So in a world where he sees kids his age sharing their Words, giggling over ways they will meet their potential soulmate, he quickly realizes that he is different. He is not one of the lucky ones. When he is able to read he understands why his mother never wants him to share his words.

He tells people he is a blank from then on. He can’t decide which is worse, having a soulmate that is an apparent murderer or receiving pity looks when he tells people he’s a blank. Of course Steve knows, because he’s Steve for goodness sake.

When the war starts, a glimmer of hope flickers in Bucky’s heart. He reasons that maybe they aren’t that violent at all. That they are simply very passionate about the war. His hopes are diminished before he even knows it.

Because he is falling.

Falling.

Falling.

Falling.

He doesn't remember much after that, and he thinks that maybe it’s better that he never met her in the first place.

* * *

 

When HYDRA sees his Words, they don’t even bother burning them off his skin. They just assume that his soulmate is also a part of HYDRA. This is sloppy on HYDRA’s part, but Bucky’s Words tie him to the world. The Soldier doesn’t know what they mean, but they make him feel more human. Less of threat and more like a person. On particularly long missions, when his memories start coming back, he tries to search for her.

It doesn’t go well on his part.

It’s only after he escapes HYDRA’s clutches that he worries a little. Okay, he worries a lot. Is his soulmate a part of HYDRA? Are they bad? Why are their first words to him those words? It keeps him up at night, but he would never tell Steve that.

But it makes sense, considering all the people he killed. He knows he deserves it, but still he dreams for a normal life.

Time flies by, and soon Bucky is cleared to move into the Tower. He has learned not to think about his soulmate.

* * *

 

Bucky acclimates into the Tower quite nicely. He hasn’t met everyone yet, but he’s surprised at how well he gets along with everyone. He still has bad days; everyone in the Tower does, but he’s happier than he’s been in a long time.

He’s heading in the direction of the communal kitchen when he hears her. Some weird music is playing, and Bucky quickly realizes that its rap. He’s still not good with 21st century living, but he distinctly remembers Clint showing him rap music one day and not enjoying it all.

Bucky continues to the communal kitchen, listening to the girl rather impressively rap. “I’m taking this horse by the reins making red coats redder with blood stains!” She raps, spinning around the kitchen. Her long brown hair is flying around and she’s dancing quite violently. She’s actually pretty amusing to watch. She spins, and notices that she’s been caught, but doesn’t seem to care that her dance party has been interrupted. The next line is directed toward Bucky.

“ _And I’m never gonna stop until I make ‘em drop and burn ‘em up and scatter their remains I’m-_ “ She continues rapping, but Bucky is frozen.

What?

Did she say what Bucky thought she just did? The words on his thigh burn, and he knows she’s just said his Words. He does the first thing he thinks of and flees.

“Steve, I think I met her.” Bucky slams the door to their apartment, not even bothering with a greeting.

“What? Who’s her?” Steve asks, confused.

“I think I met _her_.” Bucky puts emphasis on the last word and hopes that Steve understands who he’s talking about.

Steve’s eyes go wide. He puts down the drink on the counter and rests his hands on the back of his head. “How? When?” He asks.

“I was walking to the kitchen because we ran out of protein shakes and I heard this girl rapping. She noticed me and started rapping and the next thing I knew she was rapping my Words. I ran out before anything else could happen.” Bucky says, still confused from the odd meeting he had with the girl.

Steve barks out a laugh then and grabs his chest.

“Steve! This isn’t a laughing matter! I think I met my soulmate!” Bucky cries.

“Oh my god, Bucky, this is too funny!” Steve laughs. “Remember all those years we spent worrying that your soulmate was going to be a psychopathic murderer?”

“You’re not helping, Steven!” Bucky yells.

It takes another minute or two for Steve to calm down. Bucky is practically reeling by the end of it. Yes, he knows he’s being impatient, but they were talking about his soulmate. His _soulmate_! The one he thought was going to be some sort of psychopathic, murderous, pyromaniac.

“I know who your soulmate is.” Steve tells Bucky in a sing-song voice.

“Who, Steve? I just want to know who.” Bucky is pinching the bridge of his nose at this point. His forehead is wrinkled and he is honest to God so annoyed with Steve.

“Do you know Dr. Foster?” Steve asks.

Bucky’s face pales. “Oh, no no no no. Please don’t tell me Thor’s girlfriend is my soul-“

“Will you let me finish, Buck?” Steve interrupts. “I am close to 100% sure that Dr. Foster’s intern, Darcy, is your soulmate. She’s been here about as long as you have. She keeps talking about some rap musical Hamilton and I don’t know what it is but I’m pretty sure you just encountered her.”

“A rap musical?” Bucky asks.

“Is this really all you took away from this, Bucky? Really?” Steve rolls his eyes at Bucky. “So what are you going to say to her?”

“I don’t know.” Bucky replies. “I think she might think I’m a freak now.”

“Bucky, everybody thinks you’re a freak. This is not news anyo- hey!” Steve cries out as Bucky launches a pillow at Steve’s head.

Bucky snickers but his quiet giggles are interrupted when Steve chucks the pillow right at Bucky. The two men laugh, and Bucky decides that he needs to wait before he meets this Darcy girl, who is supposedly his soulmate.

* * *

 

It’s been two weeks since Bucky met Darcy Lewis. Darcy Lewis had yet to meet Bucky and he still didn’t know what to say to her. In fact, he had been avoiding her like the plague. He pretended she didn’t exist and as soon as she entered the room, he would leave. Bucky knows in the back of his mind that she knows he’s avoiding her, too.

Natasha corners him one afternoon. He is walking back from training room when he is suddenly yanked into a deserted hallway. Instantly, he is ready to fight. Bucky is pretty sure that this part of HYDRA’s experimentations on him will never leave. He instantly has the person pinned the wall, but when he sees that it’s Natasha, he lets go. The wave of guilt begins to brush over him but Natasha is already glaring at him to stop his self-loathing. She gets it. She understands.

“What do you think you’re doing, Yasha?” She asks. “You have the poor girl convinced that you hate her.”

“Who?” Bucky asks innocently.

Natasha gives him an evil look and he sighs.

“She’s my soulmate.” He explains. “She’s spoken to me but I haven’t spoken to her. I’m afraid of what happens after that. I don’t think I’d be right for her.”

“That’s bullshit and you know it. You are soulmates for a reason, James. You can’t just let your past fears keep you from missing out. Darcy is a really kind person, Bucky. And she’s not stupid either. You’d be lucky to have her.” Natasha gives him another look, and with that, she is gone.

* * *

 

Bucky is walking up to the communal kitchen to find food when he hears her again. This time, he’s feeling brave. He’s still on the adrenaline high after whooping Steve’s butt in sparring. But he still feels like an idiot. It’s taken him close to a month to work up the courage to talk to Darcy.

Although he was once a charmer, he thought himself too dangerous to date around nowadays. He wasn’t timid with females, but he wasn’t the ladies’ man that he used to be. He suddenly wished he had some of his 1940s swagger back. This adrenaline rush was the closest he was going to get to that.

She’s still singing songs from Hamilton, he notices. If Bucky had to guess, it’s probably because her Words are from some song in the musical. Bucky had actually been listening to the soundtrack, eager to listen to something that his soulmate was so obsessed with. She’s sitting at the kitchen table, with her back to him, working on some paperwork and humming along to Dear Theodosia.

He can’t help it. “When you smile, you knock me out, I fall apart. And I thought I was so smart.” He sings to her. She stiffens and Bucky feels like he’s done something wrong. She turns around and Bucky notices that she actually looks quite scared.

Maybe he shouldn’t have done that, then. After a moment, Darcy looks as though she has herself together. He didn’t mean to startle her like that.

“Where is it?” she asks. “Where are your words?”

He wordlessly points to his upper left thigh. “Can I see?” He feels quite ridiculous, pulling his pants down in the middle of the communal kitchen, but he’d do anything for her. He pulls up his boxers and shows her his mark. Her eyebrows shoot up, but she doesn’t look surprised.

“You always struck me as kind of a boxers guys.” She says. Darcy pulls up her shirt then and shows Bucky her Words that are neatly printed along her ribcage. “Here’s mine.”

Bucky uses his flesh hand to gently trace over her tattoo. “I knew it was you. You were fiercely rapping Guns and Ships one afternoon. It startled me so much that I ran away.”

“I was wondering what I did to scare you off. I know I’m a bit of a crazy dancer, but I don’t think it was enough to warrant running away.” Darcy explains.

“It wasn’t that,” he starts. “It’s just that I was pretty convinced throughout my whole life that you would be some sort of psychopathic murderer.”

“Oh.” Darcy says, suddenly realizing the words that Bucky had imprinted on his body since he was born. “I feel bad.”

“Don’t. Steve laughed for a full five minutes when I told him the story of how we met. I think it’s kind of funny now.” He smiles softly at her to reassure her that he’s not actually mad at her. How could he be? Her smile is the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen.

“Me, too.” Darcy says. “So what do you say? Do you think Tony could land us tickets to this Friday’s show?”

They don’t just land tickets to that Friday’s show. They get to go backstage and everything, and Darcy doesn’t say anything when Bucky sheds a few tears during the final number.

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave some kudos and comments! Thank you for reading (:


End file.
